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5/14/2015 – Addon Domain Redirection

Posted by Jamison on 14 05 2015.

For a business owner maintaining multiple website URLs, registering some of these URLs as addon domains seems like a practical move. Every domain will have the full functionality of a primary account less the exorbitant premiums. It would allow him to create subdomains, redirects, QuickInstalls and email accounts, among others. Plus, it simplifies the maintenance process by doing it from a single parent account.

Before creating an Addon domain, however, note that this type of domain also has its disadvantages. It follows the file structure of a subdomain, which means that it shares resources with other domains under a parent account. There is no option to isolate files, which could be problematic in case of system backups or resets, as any change could take effect on ALL domains. Also, if the parent account goes down, everything else follows.

Conversely, using addon domains could work well if you’re using more than one URL for a single business. Large enterprises uses addon domain variations for branding purposes, and put emphasis on specific products and services as each additional domain uses a unique URL within the parent account. If you’re a restaurant owner with branches in key cities, for example, you can create addon domains to represent each city or branch. Moreover, as long as available and your bandwidth can accommodate, you can own different URL extensions relevant to your business such as .com, .net or .org.

Web developers can easily enable the use of addon domains by tweaking interface settings on Control Panel. It can be done by clicking the Manage Redirection link associated with the addon domain you would like to enable. If you choose to redirect the domain to another, specify the URL of the landing domain, then click Save.

Creating an Addon Domain

To create a new addon domain in the cPanel interface, follow these simple steps:

In the New Domain Name text box, type the URL for your intended addon domain. By default, CPanel attaches the .com extension to new domains, but it’s also possible to include other extensions. These additional domains should be manually entered into the text box.

Addon domains need to be password-protected. To ensure file security, your nominated password should be alphanumeric and uses a combination of upper and lower case characters. There is also an option to use the Generate Password function to come up with a secure password. You will be asked to enter this into the Password text box.

Confirm your password by retyping it in the Confirm Password text box.

Choose a directory that will house the addon domain’s files, and enter the name in the Document Root text box.

Finalize creating your addon domain by clicking on the Add Domain Once added, the system automatically creates a subdomain, which should be left as is. Altering or removing a subdomain after creating an addon domain might impact on the addon domain’s settings.